Molly Bloom (NZ) Soars Up NZB Filly of the Year Standings with 1000 Guineas Triumph

The 2023-24 crop of New Zealand three-year-old fillies has a new clear headline act after Molly Bloom (NZ) (Ace High) romped to victory in Saturday’s $500,000 Group One Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton.

Molly Bloom became the first Group One winner for exciting young Rich Hill Stud stallion Ace High. The Guineas-winning filly was bred by Seaton Park, who offered her in Book 1 of Karaka 2022. She was bought by Wexford Stables for $150,000. From five career starts, Molly Bloom is now a two-time winner and has banked more than $309,000 in prize-money.

Dating back to an eye-catching placing in her only start as a two-year-old, Molly Bloom has always looked like something a little bit special. She followed that up with a spectacular come-from-behind maiden win at Taupo in September, then was clearly unlucky when fifth at Hastings and fourth in the Group Two Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) at Pukekohe.

Saturday’s 1000 Guineas at Riccarton was the one that really counted, and Molly Bloom showed all of her superstar quality for Matamata trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott.

Ridden by Joe Doyle, Molly Bloom found herself much further back in the field than planned, and she was still third-last rounding the home turn into the long Riccarton straight.

But the exciting filly showed what she was made of with a dazzling turn of foot, powering down the outside of the track to win by a length from Impendabelle (Impending) and Tulsi (The Autumn Sun).

“I had it in my head to be about halfway or three-quarters of the way back through the field, but it just wasn’t happening,” Doyle said. “I just kept getting chopped back. We had to go to Plan B, then Plan C, then Plan D. Luckily enough this filly was good enough to overcome all that.

“It’s a credit to Lance and Andrew. They’ve had so much faith in this filly all the way through, and today has shown that they were dead right. They’ve been massive supporters of mine ever since I came to New Zealand, and I’m so grateful for that. They’re easy to ride for, and it’s great to get this result for them today.”

It was a special result for co-trainer O’Sullivan, who had previously won the race as a jockey aboard Olga’s Pal (NZ) (Straight Strike) in 1988, Nimue (NZ) (Star Way) in 1992 and Snap (NZ) (Kingdom Bay) in 1993.

“It’s a huge thrill,” O’Sullivan said. “We’ve talked quite a big game with this filly all the way through, so for her to produce a performance like that is really exciting. We were a bit concerned with about 600 metres to run, but it was some performance that she put up.

“There’s a lot of people that have a small share in this filly, including my daughter’s partner, and it’s great to get this result for them. Big thanks to all of our staff at home, and Scotty as well – we’ve been training together for a long time now and we get a thrill out of winning any race, let alone a big race like this.”

Runner-up Impendabelle, who was a last-start winner of the Soliloquy Stakes, is also a Karaka graduate. She was bought for $80,000 by Brewers Bloodstock from Book 1 of Karaka 2022. She has so far earned $322,525 from an eight-start career that has produced three wins and three placings.

Molly Bloom’s heroics have delivered a significant profile boost for Ace High, whose oldest progeny are still only three-year-olds. Three of his progeny will go through the ring in this week’s New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale at Karaka.

Impendabelle now leads the NZB Filly of the Year Series with 15 points. Molly Bloom has immediately moved into second with 12 points, while the 1000 Guineas third-placegetter Tulsi sits in third place with 5.5 points.

The next leg of the series is the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m) at Trentham on December 16.

Vendor	Seaton Park Ltd
Purchaser	Wexford Stables (Waikato)
Breeding	Ace High – Dancilla
Sale	Lot 193, Karaka 2022 Book 1, $150,000
Bred by	Seaton Park Ltd